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PCC's Larry Wade Named State Women's Track/Field Coach Of The Year

Pasadena City College's Larry Wade was honored as State Women's Track and Field Coach of the Year after a 2013 season that saw his team place ninth at the state meet and a school best ever sixth at the SoCal finals. He guided freshman Lancer Omhunique Browne in becoming a double state champion as the nation's No. 1 sprinter in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes.

In directing the PCC women's track and field program in his third season at the helm (he also is the men's coach), Wade coached the Lancers to place third at the South Coast Conference finals and their high spots at state and conference were the highest PCC finishes in those two big meets in 12 years.

In five events during the regular season, including both relays, the Lancers ranked in the top 5 in the state. At the CCCAA state meet held at College of San Mateo in May, Wade's Lancers picked up a third place medal in the 4x100 relay and a sixth in the 4x400 while also picking up a fifth place medal by Sophia Amodia in the 400 hurdles.

"It was a surprise to me to be picked by my peers for this very special honor," Wade said. "It was also a testament to the giant improvement our women's program has made in the past few years. There were some previous seasons here at PCC where it was hard enough just to get athletes to come out for the sport. We carried a roster of 28 athletes to begin this season and then the best of those excelled at the big meets."

Wade himself was a renowned hurdler as a two-time NCAA national champion at Texas A&M University and then a world-ranked Pan Am Games champion back in 2003. He has coached individually several U.S. Olympic athletes prior to his arrival at PCC, his first collegiate head coaching position. He also coached a season as an assistant at San Diego State University in 2009. Wade served as meet director the past few seasons of the Pasadena Games, an annual event that is now held at PCC's Robinson Stadium due to his efforts.